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Editor: Nagaraj.M.R....vol.4 . issue.20......17/05/2008
Editorial :HANG CORRUPT JUDGES , CORRUPT POLICE , CORRUPT TAX OFFICIALS… TO LAMP POSTS
- Another independence struggle in
After 60 years of
The criminalization of politics , executive & judiciary is almost complete. The corruption has spread it's tentacles far & wide , there is corruption from womb to tomb ,from maternity hospital to grave yard. The injustices meated out , the atrocities perpetrated by by public servants are worse than britishers.
Ideally in a democracy, the legal recourse of grievance redressal / justice , when a commoner suffers injustice he can appeal to respective government official or police for justice , still if doesn't get justice he can appeal to court of law , further the aggrieved can get the appropriate law enacted through his M.P / M.L.A. The sad part in
When all the legal recourses to justice fail to respond , to provide justice to the aggrieved , when corrupt judges-police-politician-public servants act as a criminal nexus & block justice delivery, the commoner has only 2 options , either to suffer in silence or to take law into his own hands & get justice on his own.
Take for instance
In some cases , involving the rich &mighty ,higher police officials , the cover-up begins right from start ie FIR Registration. Police conduct name sake enquiry , investigation, suppress evidences , witnesses , destroy some of them , the prosecution takes a favourable stand putting up weak arguments. Naturally, the guilty official , minister is acquitted by court for lack of evidences. So, the guilty who should have been rightfully put behind bars , hanged goes scot-free , to commit more crimes , more anti-national activities.
In such cases , if the suffering public give the legal punishment to the guilty , which should have been given by the court but failed. Are not such acts of public, to uphold law & dignity , national security right & patriotic ? if any body terms it as crime , that means guilty VVIPs , police , public servants should be left unpunished allowing them to commit more crimes , anti-national activities. Is that right from national security angle ? is it equality before law & equitable justice ?
Do remember that our freedom fighters ,martyrs ,sri.kudiram bose ,subhash Chandra bose , bhagath singh , veer savarkar others who took violent path of independence struggle & killed inhuman british officers, police & judges have contributed valuably ,immensely to our freedom struggle. One of the main causes of origin of naxalism ,separatist movements is the rampant corruption & unaccountability of public servants in
In this back drop , in
If the authorities term this act as illegal , crime then are the acts of corrupt public servants legal ? is the cover-up of such corrupt acts by police , vigilance officials & some judges by mis quoting /misinterpreting , misusing law is right , legal ? the GOI has created , funded , supported , given training , arms & ammunition to various terrorist outfits like LTTE , MUKTHI BAHINI ,MQM in foreign countries , resulting in destruction , mass murders of innocents there . In
In our own experience, HRW didn't get justice from authorities in many cases of injustices brought before it , most shameful fact even supreme court of India failed to register PILs , even shameful supreme court of India even failed to give information as per RTI Act , utterly shameful supreme court of India failed to protect the fundamental rights of editor of HRW & obstructed him from performing his fundamental duties. Still, HRW believes in peace , democratic practices. HRW firmly believes that violence should not be practiced by anybody – neither state nor public.
Hereby, HRW urges the corrupt public servants to mend their ways , to uphold law & dignity of democratic institutions. Atrocities , violence , corruption breeds more violence , invites dog's death. Peace ,truth , honesty is the harbinger of prosperous democratic nation. Greetings to all my Indian brothers & sisters on the occasion of 61st independence day celebrations, let us build a true democratic
Your's sincerely,
Nagaraj.M.R.
False Affidavits , Information Hiding – Crimes of supreme court of India & Public Servants
Many public servants are leading luxurious lifestyles , beyond the legal sources of their income. Many public servants are filing false affidavits about their annual income , wealth details to Election Commission of India / Vigilance Commission / other authorities , as the case may be. These authorities are not properly verifying these affidavits . many scams , scandals are coming to light day in & day out , politicians are accussing each other of involvement in scams. Whereas , the said authorities are keeping mum , as if those affidavits filed by tainted public servants are true.
The tainted public servants are not even providing full , right information to public as per RTI Act, lest the truth come out. Just imagine , even the supreme court of India violated RTI Act – failed to give information to our publication as per RTI Act , lest the truth – skeletons in judiciary comes out.
Some public servants , caught redhanded during luxurious spending , easily says that it is at their political paty's expense or their well wisher's expense. However no entries are found in the account books of said parties to that respect. The law forbids public servants from accepting gifts , hospitality , favours beyond the value of rupees one hundred ( Rs. 100 ) , as it may be a form of bribe.
Hereby , HRW urges the honourable supreme court of India , to enforce RTI Act , annual filing of affidavits by public servants , fool-proof verification of those affidavits by public committees comprising ordinary citizens as mandatory encompassing all public offices. As a first step , it must be enforced to judges , police personnel & tax officials . then alone , many socio-economic problems , corruption in
FAILURE OF CONSTITUTIONAL DUTIES BY H.E.PRESIDENT OF
In the democratic
SHOW-CAUSE NOTICE TO H.E.PRESIDENT OF
In
Honor of Indian Parliament for sale by few members of the house
it is a shame that recently four members of parliament were caught red handed on charges of human trafficking that too misusing their official passports. We have seen in the past various crimes by M.Ps - questions for money , kickbacks , etc. this present sorry state of affairs is due to the caste consciousness of the electorate. The public instead of seeing the honesty , integrity of electoral candidates looks just at his caste , in this trend they elect persons who belongs to their caste even though he is dishonest , untrustworthy & a criminal . Now , the number of criminals , density of criminals ( who are masterminds in evading conviction ) is more in elected houses of people's representatives – parliament , state assemblies , panchayaths , corporations , etc than in the jails , outside public society . HRW is ready to prove this subject to conditions , in larger public interest. Our people's representatives must learn classroom discipline , punctuality of attendance , home work , from little kids of primary school.
We have won the independence by the hard way , by the innumerable sacrifices made by great martyrs like mahatma Gandhi , Nehru , bhagath singh , etc. The criminals who have occupied constitutional positions don't have any right to squander that hard won independence of Indians. The disgrace , contempt to august house of people's representatives is brought upon itself by the corrupt people's representatives themselves.
We at HRW , have highest regards for the institution of parliament , this is an appeal to the honest few in the parliament to bring to book their corrupt colleagues & to uphold the dignity of the house .
WAKE-UP ELECTION COMMISSION OF
Former chief election commissioner , mr.T.N.sheshan brought respect to ECI by doing his duties sincerely against all pressures . he didn't have any special powers , whatever laws were there since 1950 ie our constitution of
Recently , in the media we have seen reports that a 3 time member of parliament & main fund contributor of a national political party - Mr. M.S.SUBBA is a foreigner , a nepali citizen . how can a foreigner become a law maker of
While joining government service in
The same criminals who are in constitutional offices become privy to very sensitive informations with respect to national security , economy , etc , it is the same criminals who decide over the national policy matters relating to defence , economy , national security , etc , don't that criminals sell our national security to our enemies for a price ? are we truly safe under such leaders ?
Hereby , we urge the election commission of
1. how many convicted persons , absconders as per police records are there in present loksabha , rajya sabha & all state legislatures as members of the house ?
2.. how many convicted persons , absconders as per police records were there in previous loksabhas , rajya sabhas & all state legislatures as members of the house since independence ?
3. how many foreigners , persons of foreign origin & persons having foreigners as their spouses are there in present loksabha , rajyasabha & all state legislatures , as members of the house ?
4. how many foreigners , persons of foreign origin & persons having foreigners as their spouses were there in previous loksabhas , rajyasabhas & all state legislatures , as members of the house since independence ?
5. give the details like the number of charges , cases against sitting MPs , MLAs throught
6. are you cross-checking , verifying the affidavits filed by candidates at the time of nomination for elections ? how ? is it fool-proof , then how come some criminals have entered parliament & state legislatures as members ?
7. in some instances , when MPs or MLAs are found of some wrong doings , they are just removed from the membership of the house , but no criminal prosecution against such is proceeded , why ?
bottom line : still there are are honest persons in politics , in parliament & in state legislatures striving for public welfare & upholding the law. Our publication pays our whole hearted respects to those honest few . However , criminalization of politics is an acknowledged fact by vohra committee report , acknowledged by cabinet ministers themselves & this is an appeal to the honest few MPs , MLAs to book their corrupt colleagues.
MEGA FRAUD BY GOVERNMENT OF
- An appeal to Honourable Supreme Court of India
The banks insist on matching collateral security even for self employment / educational loans by poor for an amount of Rs.5000. if the loans are not paid in time , rowdies / recovery agents are sent by banks to collect the amount by muscle power. As a final step , banks auction-off properties of collateral security to recover it's dues. Even, the tax authorities mercilessly extract tax dues to the last penny from the middle class.
The same banks, overestimate the project cost of corporates , overestimate the project feasibility & it's worth and coolly extend hundreds of crores of rupees loans without matching collateral security. The banks extend overdraft facilities without matching collateral securities , to these corporates. When loans are not repaid, no rowdies are sent by banks. The promoters , directors of such tainted corporates drain – off the companies resources cunningly through insider trading , finally making the company sick. Such companies don't pay taxes , electricity bills , water bills , etc properly to respective authorities. The authorities are deaf , dumb & blind to all these actions of such corporates. At the end , banks write-off such loans as non performing assets (NPA) & file case before courts for recovery of dues. Even if the properties of collateral security are auctioned-off dues cann't be fully realized. Finally public money is swindled . ALL THIS IS POSSIBLE DUE TO THE CONNIVANCE OF KEY BANK OFFICIALS , TAX OFFICIALS WITH CRIMINAL CORPORATES SINCE THE INCEPTION OF SUCH COMPANIES . THIS ALSO POSES UNFAIR COMPETITION TO HONEST CORPORATES. How to stop this ? by making corporate accountability ,accountability of bank , tax officials more stringent with penal provisions . afterall , they are playing with public money not their papa's property.
Already , by the connivance of public servants , bank , tax officials we have witnessed many scams like harshad Mehta , ketan parekh , hawala , etc and more than Rs. 2000000 crore NPAs are on the books of the banks. Now, the government of
HRW has extended it's services to GOI months back itself , to apprehend tax thieves , till date there is no reply from GOI , why ?
Hereby , HRW requests the Honourable Supreme Court of India to order GOI ,
1. to make necessary amendments to companies act , to make the promoters , directors of the corporates personally accountable for all their actions.
2. to constitute committees consisting of public persons with powers to scrutinize & verify all the actions of corporates for insider trading like – selling products , materials , shares to their sister concerns at discounted prices or buying products , materials , shares from their sister concerns at inflated prices or lending loans at discount rates to their sister concerns or taking loans from their sister concerns at high rate of interest or loaning materials , machines to their sister concerns , etc.
3. to constitute committees consisting of public persons , to scrutinize & verify the annual personal tax returns filed by key bank officials & tax officials , who have amassed riches & leading luxurious life styles much beyond the scope of their legal known sources of income.
4. to recover all tax dues , loan dues , etc from the corporates from the personal properties , wealth of promoters , directors of such companies.
5. to put behind bar the key bank officials who have helped the corporates in swindling public money by overestimating project viability , worth and by overlooking the insider trading of promoters and still extending loans to them.
6. to put behind bars tax officials who have helped such corporates in swindling public money.
7. to take all the necessary help from public like as services extended by HRW in apprehending tax thieves.
8. to recover & protect public money at any cost.
9. to confiscate all money , properties possessed by directors of such criminal corporates & properties of corrupt bank , tax officials , public servants.
QUESTIONS FOR MONEY – PARLIAMENTARY ACTS / LEGISLATIONS FOR ????
- improper functioning of democracy in
the vohra committee report has proved the criminalisation of politics
in
legislatures. Some of those criminals are cabinet ministers as well as
members of vital parliamentary committees. Thereby, they are in a
position to manipulate , enact laws favouring , benefitting the
criminals their cronies.
Just see how the GOI gave export incentive of Rs.1800 crore to
reliance petroleum although it didn't even export a barrel. Reliance
infocom & tata teleservices were CDMA mobile service providers & have
paid license fee of few crores only equal to landline fees without any
competitive bidding . They were supposed to provide mobile service to
operate like fixed phones within a radius of 40k.m. however they were
providing service like mobile service from one state to another like
GSM mobile service providers. By this act of RIC & TTSL , the GSM
providers who have paid thousands of license fee in competitive
bidding were economically hurt , the dispute went to court. The court
was on the verge of pronouncing it's verdict awarding damages worth
Rs.18000 crore to GSM players & Rs. 3000 crore of license fees with
penalty to GOI. The government announced a unified telecom license
regime with retrospective effect. Thereby, the GOI lost thousands of
crores of rupees & the share holders of GSM players lost thousands of
crores. Onceagain the RIC was charged by PSU bsnl THAT RELIANCE IS
RE-ROUTING INTERNATIONAL CALLS AS LOCAL CALLS & SWINDLING THE GOI.
This time too, GOI bailed it out. during the dispute between ambani
brothers the younger ambani mr. Anil ambani director of reliance
himself has stated that for the favours received from the GOI , the
company gifted some shares to then IT &
COMMUNICATIONS MINISTER mr.Pramod mahajan. Various indian &
multinational companies are lootingindian exchequer to the tune of
thousands of crores of rupees , through lobbying / bribing.
In
people's representatives are bound to raise the questions , issues
concerning their constituents on their behalf , on the floor of the
house. However the sad part in
, is the lobbying is at it's peak. The lobbying is a gentleman's white
collared crook's way of forming favour seeker's group , creating a
corpus to pay lumpsum bribe & influencing decision making. The
people's representatives are bound to represent their people first ,
then their party & party think tanks.
state of affairs , widespread corruption , huge black economy &
rampant poverty, all due to inefficient legislations & enforcements.
These think tanks & IAS lobby, consider themselves as most super
brains on earth & gives out suggestions . the present state of affairs
is a barometer of their brilliance. These think tanks & IAS lobby are
the hand maidens of lobbyists / bribers.
Now consider the following example :
Mr.raj gandhi is a member of parliament from mandya constituency in
karnataka state. He is a MBA graduate & member of ruling indian
progressive party. The multinational giant M/S GREY HOUND CORPORATION
wants to enter into paper manufacturing business in
falls on the public sector paper giant mandya national paper mills (
MNPM) in mandya district of karnataka. The MNC effectively lobbies
with the government. The ruling party think tank & the cabinet
advisory group recommends to the government to make strategic
disinvestment in the PSU M/S MNPM. They bring out graph with full
power point presentation stating that it is good for the company as
well as the government. The lobbyists follows it up with media reports
on the positive aspect of strategic disinvestment. A favourable
impression is created in the minds of literate public. The cabinet
committee okays it.
The " strategic dis investment issue " comes before the parliament for
legislation / approval. The ruling party issues a party whip to it's
members to vote in favour of dis investment. However M.P mr.raj gandhi
who is an MBA in his own wisdom also favours the dis investment.
However ,most importantly the constituents – people in mandya
parliamentary constituency through protest marches , mass post card
campaigns lakhs in numbers expresses their disagreement with the dis
investment & urges their MP mr.gandhi to vote against the
disinvestment legislation.
On the D-day in parliament , mr. Raj gandhi as per his party whip &
his own wisdom votes in favour of strategic disinvestment legislation,
much against the wishes of his people , constituents & mis represents
them in parliament. the democracy has failed here. in This way
democracy is being derailed since 58 years in
party whip , MP or MLA's own wisdom / brilliance, think tank & IAS
lobby recommendations are all secondary , the constituent's of his
constituency , people's wishes aspirations are of primary importance &
supreme. What people need is a honest representative, whosimply
delivers the people's aspirations on the floor of the house back &
forth , without superimposing it with his own ideas & party ideas. For
true democracy , the people's representatives must be true postmans.
Towards this end , the people must be educated about their democratic
rights & responsibilities. This is an appeal to the honest few in the
parliament & state legislatures to weed out their corrupt colleagues ,
lobbyists, to uphold the dignity of the house & to install democracy
in it's true form.
V.V.I.Ps in Government Of India backstabbing indian soldiers
- An appeal to supreme commander of indian armed forces H.E.PRESIDENT
OF
Our indian armed forces is one of the best professional forces in the
world. They are guarding our borders on 365*24*7 basis , enabling we
the common indian people to live in peace. Where as , the soldiers
themselves are facing lot of hardships ,they are far removed from
their homely comforts and working in very adverse , hostile environs.
The indian soldiers are sacrificing their comforts , lives for
guarding the lives of us –crores of indians. However , now it seems
the threat to the lives of brave indian soldiers are not from the
pakistani or chinese bullets , it is from their own indian brother's.
In the recent past , a joint director of RAW – an intelligence agency
defected to
leak at naval HQ, the senior most naval officers were kicked out of
office for speaking out about illegal defense deals by higher-ups.
Recently, former union minister mr.jaswant singh has stated that , a
very highly placed person in the PMO was passing nuclear secrets to
swamy has stated that former prime minister rajiv gandhi's family has
received money from foreign intelligence agencies. A former KGB
officer mitrokhin , in his autobiography has stated that smt.indira
gandhi , former prime minister of
VVIPs occupying constitutional positions are privy to defense ,
national & economic secrets. They are in a sound position to decide
over it , to manipulate it. Some VVIPs , film stars were hobnobbing
openly with terrorist leaders , underworld dons & attending dawood
ibrahim's parties , etc in gulf countries. Some VVIPs have even aided
terrorist outfits in other sovereign countries like LTTE in srilanka.
VVIPs strikes deals with arms dealers & awards them defense contracts.
As a result indian forces are flush with technologically obsolete
aeroplanes , war ships , artillery , etc bought by paying crores of
dollars.
If any defense personnel questions these actions , he is
court-martialled & put behind bars. If any ordinary citizens questions
them , he is silenced through the brute force of police. Even election
commission of
antecedents of certain VVIP candidates tom an indian citizen on
request. The courts have suo motto powers to take action on news
reports , but they have not taken any even on appeal. The police don't
take action against such VVIPs & are not even registering complaints
against them. Most public servants are only bothered about their
position , favours , post-retirement postings , etc. In their scope of
things , national security is nowhere on their mind or actions.
On the public side , the same VVIPs condemn terrorism & other foreign
countries. They deploy indian soldiers on the borders , terrorist
infected areas , to contain the mafia . they send our soldiers with
3rd class arms & ammunition , riding 3rd class aeroplanes , ships &
artillery to contain violence , as a result our soldiers get killed
like flees , like sitting ducks to be shot at, by enemies who are
armed with latest weapons. As a result more number of soldiers are
dying in plane crashes , terrorist bullets than to pakistani or
chinese bullets.
Hereby , HRW appeals to your excellency to protect our brave soldiers
, by making public the following information & providing that
information to HRW as per RTI Act on the following questions :
1. how GOI is monitoring VVIPs of foreign origin , those with spouses
of foreign origin & those with ties , links to foreign nationals ?
2. how GOI is monitoring the activities of VVIPs , while on foreign tour ?
3. how GOI is monitoring activities of ex-VVIPs ?
4. how transparent are defense contract / tender procedures ?
5. how you protect whistle blowers / defense personnel who expose
illegal defense deals ?
6. why don't the Election Commission of India fully make public the
criminal antecedents of VVIP candidates ?
7. is former union minister mr.jaswanth singh's words true ? what
action ?
8. is former union minister mr.subramaniam swamy's words true ? what
action ?
9. did GOI aid & sponsor LTTE terrorists in srilanka ?
10. did GOI pay any compensation to victim's of LTTE's terrorism ?
11. are the charges made by former admiral mr.bhagawath & rear-admiral
mr. Arun true ? what action ?
12. how many MPs , MLAs , VVIPs have links with underworld , mafia &
terrorist outfits ?
13. how many film stars , sportsmen , politicians have attended the
parties hosted by dawood ibrahim & others in gulf & else where ? what
action ?
14. are the statements made by former KGB officer mr.mitrokhin true ?
what action ?
15. how you are ensuring the safety of whistleblowers ?
god save my country , our brave soldiers from traitors in the garb of
VVIPs.
3 % OF DRUGS IN INDIAN MARKET ARE FAKE – SAYS W.H.O
The survey found that counterfeit drugs at the retail level are available to the same extent throughout the country
Bhuma Shrivastava
The survey, conducted by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), comes at a time when the government has promised to introduce a Bill in the current session of Parliament that will call for stringent punishment for those engaged in the manufacture and sale of spurious drugs.
The WHO-backed survey precedes a mammoth exercise being planned by
The survey picked up 10,000 samples of 56 top selling drugs, as ranked by market researcher ORG IMS. Of the 3% of the sample that was counterfeit—defined as those violating patent and copyright rules by, for instance, mimicking packaging and brand names—the study estimates that just one-10th are likely to be substandard in terms of their ingredients.
The survey also found uniformity in the prevalence of counterfeit drugs at the retail level, though many within the country believe Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Drug controller general of India (DCGI) M. Venkateswarlu, who has studied the survey report, said it supports the view of the ministry of health and family welfare. "Even if we assume all the 3% they are suspecting to be counterfeit are proved so, it is still far less than the figures doing the rounds right now," he said.
The estimates have varied widely from a low of 0.5% to a high 30% of the drugs sold in the country. According to WHO, although precise and detailed data on counterfeit medicines is difficult to obtain, estimates of counterfeit prevalence range from around 1% of sales in developed countries to more than 10% in the developing world.
Some in the drug industry questioned the study. "The findings seem inaccurate," said a senior executive of a Mumbai drug firm who didn't want to be named because he hadn't personally reviewed the study. Still, "a sample size of 10,000 is too small for a country like
Meanwhile, FIP's vice-president in
This study, however, does not cover drug batches being exported from
DCGI, meanwhile, is awaiting the final nod from the government to undertake a countrywide survey that could investigate up to 100,000 samples focused on a lot fewer brands than the FIP study's 56.
In a recent interview with Mint, Venkateswarlu said the department is speaking to statistical organizations such as the Indian Statistical Institute to aid in this exercise. "It has to be a time bound, high-speed process. It'll not just give a reliable estimate of the extent of the counterfeit drugs, but also help (us) in undertaking consequential action," he said.
FIP is a body that represents national pharmaceutical (professional and scientific)associations, founded in
Mercenaries of death - The cancer of fake drugs that rules the markets is disturbing - N. J. Singh
Thanks to Bhuma Srivastava for her hard work and soul-stirring article, `Fake drugs industry operates openly, Mint, 30 April, on how the mercenaries of death operate in connivance with unscrupulous elements.The cancer of fake drugs that rules the markets is disturbing. More so, since people pay their hard-earned money only to buy death and there is endless suffering for the family left behind by the deceased. Congratulations to Harinder Sikka for filing a PIL against this. People with a conscience must raise their voices in unison to support him in his push for the concerned amendment to the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
—N. J.Singh
The problem of fake drugs has plagued our community for many years. Few crimes can be more horrendous than this one. Indirectly, this is murder in cold blood. The agony of suffering from the administration of fake drugs can only be understood by those who have been affected. Fake drugs not only take away precious lives, but also lead to the emergence of drug resistance. Unfortunately, our legal system is painfully tardy. As in other spheres, our socio-political environment has allowed the culprits to carry on with their nefarious activities with utter disregard for the law of the land. Hang a few and this menace will come to an end.
Hence, through your columns, I appeal that the law should be strengthened with more stringent and exemplary punishments, including capital punishment. I read of a PIL filed in the high court. I urge the court and Parliament to take a speedy decision on this crucial issue. Your efforts through the media must help this cause. We had a mega conference on luxury. Let us have a mega conference on fake drugs, an industry possibly larger than the luxury one. I wish you success.
—Deepak Lahoti
Your story does a commendable job in highlighting the menace posed by counterfeit drugs to humanity.
Despite being a serious health hazard, there has never been any concerted effort from all the stakeholders involved to counter this hazard. And that has continuously encouraged the culprits to profit from it.
Lack of infrastructure and manpower for the regulator, coupled with major inadequacies in the existing laws, make the problem a very complex one. There is still no clarity on the draft law pending in Parliament to expedite the legal procedure and increase punitive measures.
In the meantime, it is the general public that is suffering. Do we not have the right to quality medicines?
Who will answer this question—the the government or the pharmaceutical industry? And who will take the lead and help implement a practical solution?
With the secondary wholesaler distribution market being the weakest link in the supply chain, the industry and industry associations have to play a proactive role in containing the menace of fake drugs.
Mint, by bringing to the forefront an issue of public health, has put in a great effort.
However, it should not end here; rather, further follow-ups need be done so that the concerned take appropriate action to meet the menace.
—Jayashree Menon
This refers to the interview with Harinder S. Sikka, `Govt must take the blame if fake drugs are having a field day', Mint, 3 May. I feel three steps are required to do away with the menace of spurious and inferior quality drugs. We need to do a detailed analysis of the essential drugs. Those drugs that are required for treatment of common ailments should be sold only in generic form, though brands may be allowed here.
Vitamin formulations with odd combinations need to be banned straight away. We need to strengthen those drug manufacturers who are ready to adhere to a very high degree of quality, but cannot reach the masses.
Spurious drug manufacturers will have to be punished and punished very fast; if needed, we should set up special courts for the purpose.
—Narendra M. Apte
Govt must take blame if fake drug lords are having a field day – ENSURE QUALITY CHECKING OF MEDICINES PROCURED FOR GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS
On 30 April, Mint wrote a page one story about the proliferation of fake drugs in the heart of the nation's capital. Meanwhile, legislation, in the form of an amendment to the Drugs & Cosmetics Act, proposed back in 2005, is gathering dust in Parliament even after some of the original proposals—such as death penalty for counterfeited drugs—has been watered down. Some of the recommendations stemmed from an even earlier report from a committee headed by R.A. Mashelkar, the former director general of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research.
While Union health minister A. Ramadoss as well as other ministry officials declined to talk about the delayed legislation, the department of chemicals and petrochemicals said the amendment may be taken up by Parliament in "the coming sessions."
But enough is enough, some are saying.Harinder S. Sikka, a director at drug maker Nicholas Piramal India Ltd, has filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi high court, asking the government to explain what has been happening with the Mashelkar report. Sikka, who has filed the litigation in his individual capacity, says that dealing in spurious drugs violates Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the fundamental right to life.
In a wide-ranging conversation with Mint's reporter, Sikka explains his motives in trying to force the issue and also offers some solutions. Edited excerpts:
What made you file a PIL on the issue of counterfeit and spurious drugs?
I have been concerned about the menace of counterfeit and spurious drugs for long. Many years ago, while writing for a newspaper (the Pioneer), I went to cover the Kargil war. It was then that I ran into the stark reality of spurious drugs. The seriously injured jawans were being administered drugs that no one had heard of. Most of the drugs being supplied there were substandard or spurious.
I have spent 13 years in the drugs industry and I have sufficient knowledge about spurious and substandard drugs. While I was in the Navy, I had the privilege of availing a Local Purchase Order (where senior officers can procure drugs from the marketplace). Why was this LPO freely given to senior officers? It was only because the government doesn't think too highly of their own procurement system.
What is amiss in the current regulatory environment and government set-up?
It is widely known that the drugs supplied through the government tender system, focuses on L1, or the lowest-priced drugs. The focus here is not on the quality or the reputation of the company. Neither is much attention paid to the question whether the firm has the infrastructure, or is following Schedule M (good quality manufacturing norms).
On paper, some of these quality checks are done but, I can assure you, some of these drug companies are operating out of their garages. But, they have the wherewithal and the paperwork in place to procure these government contracts.
Indians found guilty in
The convictions, delivered in the Kingston Crown Court Monday evening, came after what is called the biggest counterfeit drugs bust in British history. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) led the investigations.
The men were charged with masterminding the industrial-scale supply of counterfeit medicine between 2002 and 2005, involving millions of pounds worth of counterfeit Viagra, Cialis and Propecia.The medicines contained around 90 per cent of the normal active ingredient found in the authentic tablets - but regulators said customers were put in danger because of other possible ingredients.
These seizures resulted in the MHRA unravelling the biggest conspiracy of the supply of counterfeit medicines thus far in
MHRA sources said that in the autumn of 2002, revenue and customs officials seized counterfeit Viagra at Stansted airport. This was followed by a number of other seizures at Stansted and Heathrow airports where false descriptions like "Vitamins C and E", "Calcium for Kids" and "Samples of Mineral Supplements for Dogs" were used for a variety of products.
The counterfeit medicines were filtered for sale through licensed wholesalers to pharmacies in
The chance interception of a packet containing 12,000 fake Viagra tablets led to the arrests. The packet was addressed to Leicester-based Gary Haywood, 58, who claimed to be working for drugs firm Pfizer. He told undercover investigators on camera that "within 6-8 weeks I will be able to supply up to a million tablets".
Haywood, along with Ashwin Patel, 24, of north London, and Zahid Mirza, 45, of Ilford, Essex, were found guilty last month of a number of counts of conspiring to sell fake medicines.
Ashish Halai, 31, of Borehamwood, Essex, described as the British "lynchpin" of the operation, had already pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring to sell the fake drugs before the trial started almost nine months ago. He was jailed for four-and-a-half years.
The jury failed to reach verdicts on four other defendants. George Patino, a doctor from
The investigation traced a complex network of individuals, companies and bank accounts facilitating the movement of these medicines. Over a period of time, the men conspired together with the common purpose to profit from these counterfeits.
Mick Deats, Head of Enforcement at the MHRA said: "The MHRA treats every report of a counterfeit medicine as a serious incident. We will continue to use every power at our disposal to prosecute those engaged in this illicit activity and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes.
"This successful prosecution should serve as a clear signal to those contemplating the supply of counterfeit medicines. The public are strongly advised to avoid buying medicines online, where the risk of being provided with counterfeit medicines is greatly increased," he added.
The verdicts could only be reported on Monday after the court lifted restrictions. The MHRA is the government agency responsible for ensuring that medicines and medical devices work.
KILLER COLAS & KILLER MEDICINES OF INDIA
- Government officials murdering innocents in league with greedy industrialists
In
The cola companies are so cunning & ruthless that they have used muscle power – rowdies , corrupt police personnel & assaulted harmless peaceful protestors. The cola companies have purchased justice previously in kerala & got favourable judgement. Due to presence of cola companies , under water table has depleted in surrounding villages. The farmers are unable to grow their crops & are committing suicides. One of the senior executive of a cola company – BEJOIS , MADE MURDER THREATS , FIX-UPS IN FALSE CASES TO EDITOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH'S and even made false complaint to police , but repeatedly failed to turn-up for enquiry fearing that truth will come out. The police closed the case subsequently.
In
Just a few months back , there was a programme called "bad medicine" on BBC channel , where in the drugs controller for
In
COCA-COLA , PEPSI COLA & OTHER SOFT DRINK MANUFACTURERS
-Are you disclosing full information to the consumers about contents of your products ?
various soft drink manufacturers & bottled drinking water manufacturers draw their raw material- water from the tube wells . nowadays due to excessive usage of chemical fertilizers , pesticide , insecticides , the ground water table is polluted by these chemicals . these are very harmful for human beings. In some areas even the ground water is poisoned by arsenic & flouride . In addition the soft drink manufacturers use chemical flavours , food additives & preservatives in their products . these are also harmful to human beings above certain limits.
Some of the MNCs are practicing double standards , while in their home operations in the U.S.A they are strictly adhering to F.D.A norms as consumer safety is strictly enforced there by the government , while in
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